When You Come Home

Nora gives the reader a page turner filled with colorful characters and living narratives. She grabs us and dishes out the real, factual,and horrible truth. Rosie Starr

When You Come Home -- the very title is haunting! Eisenberg introduces us to two average American marines who have just returned from the Gulf War, and now the perfect life begins. Or does it? Welcome to the world of Tony, Homer and Lily, friends since childhood, and Homer's wife Nancy. Welcome also to the world of Tony's mother Mimi, whose own husband was killed in action before Tony was born. As we become enmeshed in the lives of "mamma Mimi" and the young hopefuls, we become less and less trusting of medical research into the Persian Gulf syndrome, and are angered at the absurd conclusions to which this faulty research has led. We hear of the casualties of war, the number of American soldiers who have died, and we are relieved when our own dear ones return home. But that return is not always rosy, as we discover in this timely novel.

In these times of endless war, works like Nora Eisenberg's When You Come Homeshould be required reading. This novel,which focuses on families suffering from the aftermath of the Gulf War and the virulent but until recently unrecognized (by the US government), Gulf War Syndrome, is written with the skill and poetry that always attends Eisenberg's writing. The novel is gripping, and heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful. To say I loved it would be an understatement.

This important, haunting, gripping anti-war novel is breathtakingly original. It brings compassion, candor, a sharp wit and a highly sophisticated sense of satire -- reminiscent of Joseph Heller's Catch 22 -- to the terrifying subject of soldiers returning home from war. Beautifully written, When You Come Home probes the aftermath of war, delving into its impact on body and mind, on families and wives, in a way that feels utterly new. The author's canvas is expansive and the voice is unforgettable. A treasure.

Nora Eisenberg has managed to write about the shocking after-affects of war in a way that is compelling, compassionate and thought provoking. The story is brought alive by each of the main character's first person insights and I was totally drawn into their drama. I also learned things about the first Gulf war that were truly disturbing but needed to be said. I applaud Ms. Eisenberg for bringing light to this very dark subject that no one seems to want to talk about.